Water Security” is herein described as the nexus between the availability,Walmart has leapfrogged Royal Dutch Shell as the world's largest company, topping the Fortune magazine Global 500 ranking accessibility and use of water. The concept is defined as the ‘availability of, and access to water in sufficient quantity and quality to meet livelihood needs of all households throughout the year, without A decision by a U.S. bank to stop doing business with companies that transfer money from Somalis living in the United States to families back home could have a “catastrophic” impact on the fragile Horn of Africa country, development groups said.The lack of a formal banking system in Somalia is one of the legacies of conflict and instability that has gripped the nation since military dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted in 1991.Each year Somalis abroad use money transfer operators to send home an estimated $1.3 billion, more than all humanitarian and development aid combined, according to a 2013 report by aid groups Oxfam, Adeso and the Inter-American Dialogue.The money provides a lifeline to millions of people in a country rebuilding itself despite an insurgency by Islamist militants, hunger and recurring drought.The United States is the biggest source of remittances, accounting for nearly 20 percent of the total, Oxfam says.But virtually all major U.S. banks have ended remittance services to Somalis in the United States because of regulations designed to stop money falling into the hands of groups branded “terrorists” by Washington, such as Somalia’s al Shabaab.Last week, Merchants Bank of California, which handles an estimated 60 to 80 percent of the money bound for Somalia, said it was terminating its business with Somali-American money transfer companies.“I regret to inform you that Merchants Bank of California, N.A. has decided, effective February 6, 2015, to discontinue its relationship with your company. We regret having to take this action,” the bank said in a letter dated Jan. 27, a copy of which was provided by Oxfam America.Merchants Bank said the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), an independent bureau within the U.S. Treasury Department, had issued it with a so-called “consent order” instructing it to enhance its policies and procedures to detect potential violations of the law.“We cannot in good faith meet the obligations of the Consent Order given the complexity of your business,” the letter to the money transfer companies read.Merchants Bank officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.“The remittance companies and the whole sector is the backbone of the Somali economy. We think this is going to have some serious and possibly catastrophic impact,” said Degan Ali, executive director of Adeso, a humanitarian and development group working in Kenya, Somalia and South Sudan“We really worry about what’s going to happen to the millions of Somalis who are dependent on this for their daily lives. This is basic needs. We’re talking about food, shelter, medical needs, education for the children,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by telephone.Remittances cover basic needs and have also been used to build hospitals, schools, water infiltration systems and other development projects, Oxfam says.Money transfer companies are also used by the government to pay civil servants, traders to buy goods, and non-governmental organisations including U.N. agencies to deliver aid.Oxfam and Adeso say there is no alternative to money transfer companies that is formal, transparent and legal.“Financial criminals and criminal networks would have a field day because this kind of environment where there is very little transparency and where regulators really can’t follow the money is where financial criminals tend to flourish,” said Scott Paul, Oxfam America’s senior humanitarian policy adviser.“Unless there’s urgent intervention by the U.S. government, we’re going to see less money going to people who need it and more money going to criminal networks,” he said by telephone.Adeso’s Ali said: “It just defeats the purpose. We’re talking about resiliency. That’s the new hot word now. Well, this is the most resilient system we have, Somalis helping other Somalis, so why are we destroying it?”considering the needs of other users. Water Security is further described herein under ‘Securing Water for Air France-KLM revised its yearly earnings forecast down from 2.5bn euros to between 2.2 and 2.3bnLast week, Laura Wade-Gery, who was head of M&S's online business, was promoted to oversee M&S's UK stores and some are tipping her to, one day, take over from Mr Bolland. euros.Production’. (Valerie Ndaruzaniye, 2011). While ‘Water Insecurity’ refers to the exact opposite of the mentioned concept that is been the unavailability and inaccessibility of enough water to meet the livelihood need of all households in a period of one yearIn the Horn of Africa, increasing scarcity and degradation of water sources seriously threatens human well-being. The population in the region (Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya and Uganda) has increased fourfold in the past 50 years and continues to grow rapidly (United Nations Population Division, 2010). Farmers need more water to feed more mouths and extended areas are needed for food production, at the expense of forest and pasture lands. With a high and stable number of pastoral communities and decreasing amount of pastureland, pressure on land and water grows. The mounting need for fertile soils and irrigated land is intensified by high international demands for food and energy. Investors from all over the world are ready to invest in commercial farming in Sudan, Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia. With inadequate soil and water management measures being taken, this growing pressure on natural resources leads to a decrease in the quality and quantity of soils, forests and water resources. (Eric van de Giessen: 2011)To put this region into water security context, according to Earth Trends, Environmental Information/World Resources Institute, Djibouti’s per capita is 460M3; Eritrea’s per capita is 701M3; Ethiopia’s per capita is 1,666M3 and Somalia’s per capita is 628 M3 (IRWR, 2011). According to the Falkenmark Water Stress Indicator, a country or a region is said to experience “water stress” when annual water supplies drop below 1,700 cubic meters per person per year. This means almost all parts of the Horn of Africa region can generally be termed as water stress region or facing water insecurityFigure 1, Map of the Horn of Africa region (Yellow): Source: Google Map 2010It is in this context; this paper will be exploring the water scarcity and stress in the horn of Africa region and how this will increase the vulnerability of the households and farmers as well as the impact it will have on the ability of the locals to utilize their socio-economic potentials. The paper will further attempt to assess the capacity of the existing institutions to manage the task at hand and finally the author referring to his personal knowledge and experience in the area as well as the reflections of the articles reviewed will hopefully suggest possible strategies for all the concerned stakeholders.In this review article, the author will attempt to examine five peer-reviewed articles, some with specific regional details and others more general outlook on water security, and will then try to create a holistic picture on the water situation on the ground as well as the efforts of those in charge in trying to mitigate the challenges of water security and enhance greater socio-economic well being for their people. Here are the articles the author intends to review for this paper: 1:Valerie Ndaruzaniye (2011) Water security in Ethiopia, Risk and vulnerability assessment. 2: Eric van de Giessen (2011) Horn of Africa Environmental Security Assessment-Institute for Environmental Security. 3: Simbarashe Govere et.al (2010) Coping with Water Scarcity in Eastern Africa; the role of intra-regional virtual water trade. 4) Declan Conway, et.al (2008) Rainfall and Water Resources Variability in Sub-Saharan Africa during the Twentieth Century 5) Noah Amin (2007) Water Scarcity In The Horn Of Africa And Its Deadly Consequences.In this part, the discussion will be mainly centered on the major factors that are causing water stress and scarcity in Africa generally and in particular the Horn. Almost all the articles reviewed for this paper mainly agree the major cause of the water stress in the region, but as we will later discover it, there are few country specific challenges with greater regional water security significance to it.In Sub-Saharan Africa, the Eastern African region, particularly the Horn of Africa, is considered highly geographically exposed to climate change and its impact over water. Out of 200 million people living in the Horn of Africa, 70 million are located in areas prone to extreme droughts leading to water insecurity and food shortages. In this Eastern African region, floods and droughts can occur in the same area within a very short period. Such events can exacerbate inadequate water availability in quality and quantity, sufficient enough to sustain agricultural activities and energy production. As a result, this often leads to famine and widespread disruption of socio-The United States, seeing new hope for Somalia, will appoint a new ambassador to Mogadishu for the first time since closing its embassy there 23 years ago as the East African country descended into chaos, a senior U.S. government official said on Tuesday.Wendy Sherman, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, didn’t specify exactly when the ambassador would be named, but said it would be “soon.”There were hopeful signs of improvement in the security and economic conditions in the country, following years when Somalia had become “a synonym for chaos,” she said at the United States Institute of Peace think tank in Washington.“As a reflection both of our deepening relationship with the country and of our faith that better times are ahead, the president will propose the first U.S. ambassador to Somalia in more than two decades,” Sherman said.economic well beingA U.S. diplomat based in Nairobi, the capital of neighboring Kenya, who traveled sporadically to Mogadishu, has represented U.S. interests in Somalia. A State Department official said the new ambassador would not yet be based permanently in Mogadishu. Mentioning recent attacks in Somalia and neighboring Kenya by the al-Qaeda-affiliated militant group al Shabaab, Sherman said there was still a tough struggle to secure the country and rebuild its government, economy and infrastructure.“The path ahead remains rocky and uphill,” she said, adding that now was the best time in a quarter of a century to start realizing the post-independence hopes of the former Italian colony for peace and prosperity.Discussing the U.S. commitment to Somalia’s security, she said “a small contingent of U.S. military personnel, including some special operations forces, have been present in parts of Somalia for several years.”Their aim had been to work with Somali and African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces, providing information and advice on fighting al ShabaabSherman noted there had been a number of direct U.S. military strikes on militant targets, but didn’t specify whether they were drone strikesFrom time-to-time the U.S. military has conducted such action in Somalia against a limited number of targets who … have been determined to be part of al Qaedashe said.These may continue in the future if it was established that there was a “continuing imminent threat to U.S. persons.”. (Valerie Samsung is the world's biggest maker of mobile phones and the handset division accounts for the bulk of its profits.The South Korean firm said it "witnessed a slowdown in the overall smartphone market growth and saw increased The price of oil may have fallen off a cliff recently, but that has not deterred energy giants like Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, BP and Chevron from reactivating plans to drill in Somalia.
The Horn of Africa country could be the next focus for the energy industry, as the government claims the nation will be producing oil within six years.
London-based Soma Oil and Gas, which is backed by Russian billionaire Alexander Djaparidze, has completed an onshore and offshore seismic survey and it is encouraged by the results. Details are expected to be published by the end of the year.
Security remains a concern for foreign investors, but Somalia says with the help of troops from the African Union, it is making progress against the Islamist insurgents al-Shabab.
Nevertheless attacks continue in the region, with ones in the capital, Mogadishu, the south-central town of Baidoa and north-eastern Kenya, near the Somali border, in the last week alone.
Soma Oil and Gas chief executive Bob Sheppard, told the BBC the company’s seismic survey covered thousands of kilometres without any security worries.
“We’re able to do that with zero security incidents. What we’ve been able to demonstrate is that you can conduct offshore operations safely and securely,” he said.
A seismic survey involves firing an audio signal underground and analysing the sound waves that bounce back, which can indicate if there are deposits of oil or gas.
Territorial dispute
The government in Mogadishu will reward Soma for carrying out the seismic survey with licences to explore for oil.
“The government have recognised they need to stimulate exploration. They need to stimulate the creation of a hydrocarbon regime because they are in a prospective area,” says Mr Sheppard.
He notes that the region’s geology looks positive. “The analogous area would be the north-west coast of Madagascar, which has oil, because back in Triassic time (205 to 248 million years ago) they were joined. So we think the same hydrocarbon environment may exist,” he said.
“We’re hopeful about oil.”
Another thing that could disrupt development of Somalia’s oil and gas is a territorial dispute with Kenya over the offshore border between the two nations.
Talks between Nairobi and Mogadishu have failed to resolve the dispute and tensions increased after Kenya issued exploration licences to drill in the region.
Somalia has filed a case with the UN’s International Court of Arbitration.
Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Daud Mohamed Omar is confident Somalia will win its case.
“We do not believe that it is a disputed area. We believe it’s the property of the Somali nation,” he said.
“As we have hired maritime lawyers, we have hopes that the outcome would be a mutual understanding between the two countries or we will have to wait for the ruling of the court,” he said.
Another complication for the government in Mogadishu lies in the fact that the autonomous regions of Puntland and Somaliland have also issued exploration licences.
‘Hottest opportunity’
East Africa is the new frontier for the world’s energy industry, as reserves of gas are being developed off the coast of Mozambique, Tanzania is exploring offshore and oil has been discovered in Kenya and Uganda.
“East Africa is regarded within the oil and gas industry as having huge untapped potential,” says Steve Robertson, a director with the energy analysis group Douglas Westwood.
“It has been regarded in recent years as one of the hottest opportunities available to both independent and larger international oil companies,” he told the BBC.
Abdulkadir Abiikar Hussein, the director of oil and gas exploration at the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources in Mogadishu, is confident Somalia can attract the world’s big oil companies to start drilling.
“Comparing to what we have seen in the region. From Mozambique through Tanzania, Kenya, that has proved there are gas resources.” And the bulk of the Indian Ocean is with Somalia so that’s why there is a rush to Somalia these days,” he said.
Mr Hussein also insisted stability is returning to the once war-torn country.
“The Indian Ocean is safe enough these days. There was the problem of piracy and piracy has dwindled. In terms of al-Shabab and other problems, that is a continental problem, but not in the Indian Ocean, so as a priority the Indian Ocean has to be explored first,” he said.
“There is a tremendous improvement in security in Somalia at the moment,” he added.
New port
Companies like Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil are being encouraged to reactivate dormant contracts to explore for oil and gas. They withdrew from Somalia two decades ago after civil war broke out in 1991.
They may be encouraged by Somalia’s plans to develop the country’s infrastructure.
According to Mr Hussein, “there is an expansion going on to Mogadishu port and initially that will be adequate enough to receive the movements of rigs and things like that into Somalia.
“But there will be another project that will include building a new port to handle the massive equipment imported in by international oil companies,” he added.
Somalia is confident it will be producing oil within a few years, but given the planned development of oil and gas resources elsewhere in the region, notably Uganda and Kenya, the government in Mogadishu would do well to remember an old Somali proverb: “One cannot count on riches.”
competition in the Chinese and some European markets" during the period.Meanwhile, a stronger Korean currency also hurt Samsung's earnings during the period.The Korean won rose more than 11% against the US dollar and nearly 7% against the euro between July 2013 and end of June this year.A strengthening currency hurts profits of firms such as Samsung - which rely heavily on exports - when they repatriate their foreign earnings.Ndaruzaniye, 2011)